Chapter 15
“I’m notsure I want Don Caldwell on the guest list. He skeeves me out.”
We sit in the back of the limo on our way to the All American Country Music Awards show, stuck in traffic and creeping along the Vegas strip leading to the MGM Grand where the event is being hosted.
Our wedding date is set for a month from now and the only thing we have left to do is finalize our list of invites. London and I agreed that we’d keep the list small and intimate, considering we were holding the wedding ceremony on our property.
But being in the entertainment business, it is nearly impossible to invite some people and neglect the rest, especially in the case of Don, the President of my band’s record label.
I shift around to face her in the seat beside me, her sequined emerald dress sparkling in the low interior light, the deep cut of the material emphasizing her plump cleavage. We’ve been photographed together too many times to count and the public was shocked to learn that London never modeled. I don’t blame them for being skeptical. She’s a natural beauty, but with the brains and heart to surpass any other woman, model or otherwise.
I watch her face as it transforms with anxious worry, the wheels spinning in her head as her lips pinch in thought.
“I was thinking…what if we just scrapped the whole ceremony and just had my parents, Cam and his family and that’s it. Not even the boys from the band or anyone.”
Leaning into her, I cup her cheeks gently, staring at her with admiration and love.
“It’s your wedding, darlin’. I’m just there to claim what’s mine and I don’t really care who’s there to witness it. In fact, I’d be just as happy to get married in Vegas tonight.” I throw this out with a sweep of my hand out the car window at the flashing lights and luxurious sights along the Strip.
London quirks a manicured eyebrow. “That’s not a bad idea. I mean, I am already dressed to the nines. Might as well take advantage of it.”
I’m dumbfounded by her response, because honestly, I was only half serious with my suggestion. While I’ve waited years to marry my beautiful girl, there’s something about doing it without Cam that doesn’t feel right.
As if he knows I am thinking about him, my phone lights up with a text.
Cam: Wishing you a good luck tonight. We’ll be watching.
I smile with pride and tip the phone in London’s direction so she can read it herself.
Over the last two months, we’ve slowly re-asserted ourselves back into Cam’s life with the help of his mom, Doreen. She’d reached out to us in a desperate plea to help straighten Cam out because he had fallen into a depression so deep she didn’t know how to help him.
London and I had met up with her and London’s mom, Cora, one day earlier last week for lunch in Nashville.
“Oh, my word, it is so good to see you two,” Doreen had gushed, hugging us both tightly as we walked into the crowded waiting area of the restaurant. “And London, honey, you are positively glowing. You are going to be the most beautiful bride. Cora has been filling me in on all the details. I’m so happy for you both.”
London blushes and waves her hand dismissively. “Oh stop, Dori. You’re embarrassing me. And momma is probably exaggerating about everything, aren’t you, Momma?”
We got seated at a booth, the two of us on one side and Doreen and Cora on the other, as the waitress provided us the menus and waters. We immediately segued from wedding into asking about Cam and Taylor.
“Is everything okay with them? Is Taylor adjusting to school? And is Cam back at work?”
Doreen nods her head sadly at my barrage of questions, her lips pursed in a slight frown. “Taylor is doing wonderfully. He just received the weekly class award for Kindness Giver. I was so proud of that boy! He reminds me so much of you when you were that age, Sage. You were such a sensitive boy that cared so deeply for your friends.”
She patted me on the hand across the table, her wrinkled hand soft with a mother’s touch, flooding me with nostalgia of our childhood. Doreen was always so sweet and generous to me, loving me as if I were her own son.
London heaved a wistful sigh. “That makes me so happy to hear. I miss that boy so much.”
I kissed her cheek, laying an arm around her on the back of the booth.
Doreen nodded. “He misses you both, too. He always talks about his cool race car bed, all the toys you’ve spoiled him with, riding London’s horse and all the fun he has with uncle Sage and aunt London. You’ve been such a positive influence on him.”
Cora leans over and wraps an arm around Doreen’s shoulder, smiling broadly at the both of us across the table.
“He loves you both so much. So does his dad.”
Doreen smiles warmly at Cora and nods in agreement.
“He’s so lucky. While he’s too young to realize everything that’s happened, and the difficulties that Cam had during his recovery, I know his mother leaving has had a profound effect on Taylor. How could it not? But the two of you being there for both Taylor and Cam when they needed that love the most is so appreciated. I can’t thank you enough.”
